DATA 301

Introduction to Data Analytics

Python

Dr. Ramon Lawrence

University of British Columbia Okanagan
[Link]@[Link]
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Why learn Python?

Python is increasingly the most popular choice of programming
language for data analysts because it is designed to be simple,
efficient, and easy to read and write.

There are many open source software and libraries that use Python
and data analysis tools built on them.

We will use Python to learn programming and explore fundamental

programming concepts of commands, variables, decisions, repetition,
and events.
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What is Python?
Python is a general, high-level programming language designed for
code readability and simplicity.

Python is available for free as open source and has a large community
supporting its development and associated tools.
Python was developed by Guido van Rossum and first released in
1991. Python 2.0 was released in 2000 (latest version 2.7), and a
backwards-incompatible release Python 3 was in 2008.
• Our coding style will be Python 3 but most code will also work for Python 2.
• Name does refer to Monty Python.
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Python Language Characteristics

Python supports:
• dynamic typing – types can change at run-time
• multi-paradigm – supports procedural, object-oriented, functional styles
• auto-memory management and garbage collection
• extendable – small core language that is easily extendable

Python core philosophies (by Tim Peters: [Link]

• Beautiful is better than ugly
• Explicit is better than implicit
• Simple is better than complex
• Complex is better than complicated
• Readability counts
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Some Quotes
"If you can't write it down in English, you can't code it."
-- Peter Halpern

"If you lie to the computer, it will get you."

-- Peter Farrar
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Introduction to Programming
An algorithm is a precise sequence of steps to produce a result. A
program is an encoding of an algorithm in a language to solve a
particular problem.

There are numerous languages that programmers can use to specify

instructions. Each language has its different features, benefits, and
usefulness.

The goal is to understand fundamental programming concepts that

apply to all languages.
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Python: Basic Rules

To program in Python you must follow a set of rules for specifying your
commands. This set of rules is called a syntax.
• Just like any other language, there are rules that you must follow if you are to
communicate correctly and precisely.
Important general rules of Python syntax:
• Python is case-sensitive.
• Python is particular on whitespace and indentation.
• The end of command is the end of line. There is no terminator like a semi-colon.
• Use four spaces for indentation whenever in a block.
def spam():
eggs = 12
return eggs
print spam()
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Comments
Comments are used by the programmer to document and explain the
code. Comments are ignored by the computer. Two types:
• 1) One line comment: put “#” before the comment and any characters to the end
of line are ignored by the computer.
• 2) Multiple line comment: put “"""” at the start of the comment and “"""” at
the end of the comment. The computer ignores everything between the start
and end comment indicators.
Example: # Single line comment
print (1) # Comment at end of line
""" This is a
multiple line
comment """
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Python Programming
A Python program, like a book, is read left to right and top to bottom.
Each command is on its own line.

# Sample Python program Flow of Execution

Start at first statement at
name = "Joe" top and proceed down
print("Hello") executing each statement
print("Name: "+name)

A user types in a Python program in a text editor or development

environment and then runs the program.
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Python Editor - jupyter

jupyter is a graphical, browser-based editor for Python.
To create a new notebook, select File, New Notebook, Python3.
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Python Editor – jupyter notebook

Button to run code (shortcut is Ctrl+Enter)

Python code

Program output
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Python: Hello World!

Simplest program:

print("Hello World!")

The print function will print to the terminal (standard output)

whatever data (number, string, variable) it is given.
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Try it: Python Printing

Question 1: Write a Python program that prints "I am fantastic!".

Question 2: Write a Python program that prints these three lines:

I know that I can program in Python.
I am programming right now.
My awesome program has three lines!
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Python Question
Question: How many of the following statements are TRUE?

1) Python is case-sensitive.
2) A command in Python is terminated by a semi-colon.
3) Indentation does not matter in Python.
4) A single line comment starts with """.
5) The print command prints to standard input.

A) 0 B) 1 C) 2 D) 3 E) 4
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Variables
A variable is a name that refers to a location that stores a data value.

Variable Value (cute cat)

Location Age
18 Value Location
(box)
Variable
petbox (label)

IMPORTANT: The value at a location can change using initialization or

assignment.
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Variable Assignment
Assignment using an = sets the value of a variable.

num
Example:
num = 10 10
message = "Hello world!"
message

Hello world!
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Python Variables
To create a variable in Python, you must only provide a name.
• A variable type is dynamic. It can store numbers, strings, or Boolean at any time.
Example:
val = 5
val = "Hello"
Boolean values can be either True or False. Note case matters.
isAwesome = True
isAwesome = False
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Variable Rules
Variables are a name that must begin with a letter and cannot contain
spaces.
Variables are created when they are first used. There is no special
syntax to declare (create) a variable.
Variable names ARE case-sensitive. Numbers are allowed (but not at
the start). Only other symbol allowed is underscore ('_');
A programmer picks the names for variables, but try to make the
names meaningful and explain their purpose.
Avoid naming variables as reserved words. A reserved word has
special meaning in the language.
• e.g. if, for, else
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Python Variables Question

Question: How many of the following variable names are valid?

1) name
2) string2
3) 2cool
4) under_score
5) spaces name
6) else

A) 0 B) 1 C) 2 D) 3 E) 4
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Python Math Expressions

Math expressions in Python:
Operation Syntax Example
Add + 5+3
Subtract - 10 – 2
Multiply * 5*3
Divide / 9/4

Modulus % 9%4
(answer is 1)
Exponent ** 5 ** 2
(answer is 25)
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Expressions - Operator Precedence

Each operator has its own priority similar to their priority in regular
math expressions:
• 1) Any expression in parentheses is evaluated first starting with the inner most
nesting of parentheses.
• 2) Exponents
• 3) Multiplication and division (*, /, %)
• 4) Addition and subtraction (+,-)
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Python Expressions Question

Question: What is the value of this expression:

8 ** 2 + 12 / 4 * (3 – 1) % 5

A) 69 B) 65 C) 36 D) 16 E) 0
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Try it: Python Variables and Expressions

Question 1: Write a program that prints the result of 35 + 5 * 10.

Question 2: Write a program that uses at least 3 operators to end up

with the value 99.

Question 3: Write a program that has a variable called name with the
value of your name and a variable called age storing your age. Print
out your name and age using these variables.
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Strings
Strings are sequences of characters that are surrounded by either
single or double quotes.
• Use \ to escape ' E.g. There\'s
• Can use triple double quotes """ for a string that spans multiple lines.
Example:
name = "Joe Jones"
storeName = 'Joe\'s Store'
print("""String that is really long
with multiple lines
and spaces is perfectly fine""")
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Python String Indexing

Individual characters of a string can be accessed using square brackets
([]) with the first character at index 0.

Example:
str = "Hello"
print(str[1]) # e
print("ABCD"[0]) # A
print(str[-1]) # o
# Negative values start at end and go backward
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Rules for Strings in Python

Must be surrounded by single or double quotes.
Can contain most characters except enter, backspace, tab, and backslash.
• These special characters must be escaped by using an initial "\".
• e.g. \n – new line, \' – single quote, \\ - backslash, \" – double quote
• A string in raw mode (r before quote) will ignore backslash escape. May be
useful if data contains escapes. Example: st = r"slash\there\"
Double quoted strings can contain single quoted strings and vice versa.
Any number of characters is allowed.
The minimum number of characters is zero "", which is called the empty
string.
String literals (values) have the quotation marks removed when displayed.
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Python Strings Question

Question: How many of the following are valid Python strings?

1) ""
2) ''
3) "a"
4) " "
5) """
6) "Joe\' Smith\""

A) 1 B) 2 C) 3 D) 4 E) 5
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Python String Functions

st = "Hello"
st2 = "Goodbye"
Operation Syntax Example Output
Length len() len(st) 5
Upper case upper() [Link]() HELLO
Lower case lower() [Link]() hello
Convert to a string str() str(9) "9"
Concatenation + st1 + st2 HelloGoodbye
Substring [] st[0:3] Hel
st[1:] ello
String to int int() int("99") 99
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String Operators: Concatenation

The concatenation operator is used to combine two strings into a
single string. The notation is a plus sign '+'.
Example:
st1 = "Hello"
st2 = "World!"
st3 = st1 + st2 # HelloWorld!
print(st1+st1)
num = 5
print(st1+str(num)) # Hello5
# Must convert number to string before
# concatenation
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String Concatenation Question

Question: What is the output of this code?
st1 = "Hello"
st2 = "World!"
num = 5
print(st1 + str(num) + " " + st2)

A) Error
B) Hello5World!
C) Hello5 World!
D) Hello 5 World!
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Substring
The substring function will return a range of characters from a string.
Syntax:
st[start:end] # start is included, end is not
# first character is index 0
Examples:
st = "Fantastic"
print(st[1]) # a
print(st[0:6]) # Fantas
print(st[4:]) # astic
print(st[:5]) # Fanta
print(st[-6:-2]) # tast
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Substring Question
Question: What is the output of this code?
st = "ABCDEFG"
print(st[1] + st[2:4] + st[3:] + st[:4])

A) ABCDCDEFGABCD
B) ABCDEFGABC
C) ACDDEFGABCD
D) BCDDEFGABCD
E) BCDECDEFGABC
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Split
The split function will divide a string based on a separator.
Examples:
st = "Awesome coding! Very good!"
print([Link]())
# ['Awesome', 'coding!', 'Very', 'good!']
print([Link]("!"))
# ['Awesome coding', ' Very good', '']
st = 'data,csv,100,50,,25,"use split",99'
print([Link](","))
# ['data', 'csv', '100', '50', '', '25',
# '"use split"', '99']
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Try it: Python String Variables and Functions

Question 1: Write a Python program that prints out your name and
age stored in variables like this:
Name: Joe
Age: 25

Question 2: Write a Python program that prints out the first name and
last name of Steve Smith like below. You must use substring.
• Bonus challenge: Use find() function so that it would work with any name.
First Name: Steve
Last Name: Smith
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Print Formatting
The print method can accept parameters for formatting.
print("Hi", "Amy", ", your age is", 21)
print("Hi {}, your age is {}".format("Amy",21))

This is one of the most obvious changes between Python 2:

print "Hello"
and Python 3:
print("Hello")
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Python Date and Time

Python supports date and time data types and functions.
First, import the datetime module:
from datetime import datetime
Functions:
now = [Link]()
print(now)
current_year = [Link]
current_month = [Link]
current_day = [Link]
print("{}-{}-{} {}:{}:{}".format([Link], [Link],
[Link], [Link], [Link], [Link]))
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Python Clock
Python time() function returns the current time in seconds:
import time
startTime = [Link]()
print("Start time:", startTime)
print("How long will this take?")
endTime = [Link]()
print("End time:", endTime)
print("Time elapsed:", endTime-startTime)
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Python Input
To read from the keyboard (standard input), use the method input:

name = input("What's your name?")

print(name)
Prompt for value
age = input("What's your age?") from user
print(age)
print out value received

• Note in Python 2 the method is called raw_input().

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Try it: Python Input, Output, and Dates

Question 1: Write a program that reads a name and prints out the
name, the length of the name, the first five characters of the name.

Question 2: Print out the current date in YYYY/MM/DD format.

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Comparisons
A comparison operator compares two values. Examples:
• 5 < 10
• N > 5 # N is a variable. Answer depends on what is N.

Comparison operators in Python:

• > - Greater than
• >= - Greater than or equal
• < - Less than
• <= - Less than or equal
• == - Equal (Note: Not "=" which is used for assignment!)
• != - Not equal
The result of a comparison is a Boolean value which is either True or
False.
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Conditions with and, or, not

A condition is an expression that is either True or False and may
contain one or more comparisons. Conditions may be combined
using: and, or, not.
• order of evaluation: not, and, or May change order with parentheses.
Operation Syntax Examples Output
AND and True and True True
(True if both are True) False and True False
False and False False
OR or True or True True
(True if either or both are True) False or True True
False or False False
NOT not not True False
(Reverses: e.g. True becomes False) not False True
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Condition Examples
n = 5
v = 8
print(n > 5) # False
print(n == v) # False
print(n != v) # True
print(n == v and n+4>v) # False
print(n == v or n+4>v) # True
print(n+1 == v-2 or not v>4) # True
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Python Condition Question

Question: How many of the following conditions are TRUE?

1) True and False

2) not True or not False
3) 3 > 5 or 5 > 3 and 4 != 4
4) (1 < 2 or 3 > 5) and (2 == 2 and 4 != 5)
5) not (True or False) or True and (not False)

A) 0 B) 1 C) 2 D) 3 E) 4
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Decisions
Decisions allow the program to perform different actions based on
conditions. Python decision syntax:

if condition: if condition:
Done if condition
statement is True
statement
else:
statement Done if condition
is False

• The statement after the if condition is only performed if the condition is True.
• If there is an else, the statement after the else is done if condition is False.
• Indentation is important! Remember the colon!
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Decisions if/elif Syntax

If there are more than two choices, use the if/elif/else syntax:

if condition: if n == 1:
statement print("one")
elif condition: elif n == 2:
statement print("two")
elif condition: elif n == 3:
statement print("three")
else: else:
statement print("Too big!")
print("Done!")
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Decisions: Block Syntax

Statements executed after a decision in an if statement are indented
for readability. This indentation is also how Python knows which
statements are part of the block of statements to be executed.
• If you have more than one statement, make sure to indent them. Be consistent
with either using tabs or spaces. Do not mix them!

if age > 19 and name > "N":

print("Not a teenager")
print("Name larger than N")
else:
print("This is statement #1")
print(" and here is statement #2!")
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Question: Decisions
Question: What is the output of the following code?
n = 3
if n < 1:
print("one")
elif n > 2:
print("two")
elif n == 3:
print("three")

A) nothing B) one C) two D) three

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Question: Decisions (2)

Question: What is the output of the following code?
n = 3
if n < 1: A) nothing
print("one") B) one
elif n > 2
C) two
print("two")
else: D) three
print("three") E) error
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Question: Decisions (3)

Question: What is the output of the following code?
n = 1
if n < 1: A) nothing
print("one") B) one
elif n > 2:
four
print("two")
else: C) three
print("three") D) three
print("four") four
E) error
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Question: Decisions (4)

Question: What is the output of the following code?
n = 0 A) nothing D) one
if n < 1: B) one five
print("one") four zero
print("five")
C) one four
elif n == 0:
print("zero") five
else: four E) error
print("three")
print("four")
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Try it: Decisions

Question 1: Write a Python program that asks the user for a number
then prints out if it is even or odd.

Question 2: Write a Python program that asks the user for a number
between 1 and 5 and prints out the word for that number (e.g. 1 is
one). If the number is not in that range, print out error.
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Loops and Iteration

A loop repeats a set of statements multiple times until some condition
is satisfied.
• Each time a loop is executed is called an iteration.

A for loop repeats statements a number of times.

A while loop repeats statements while a condition is True.

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The while Loop

The most basic looping structure is the while loop.
A while loop continually executes a set of statements while a condition
is true.
Syntax: while condition:
statements

Example: n = 1
while n <= 5: Question: What does this print?
print(n)
n = n + 1 # Shorthand: n += 1
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Question: while Loop

Question: What is the output of the following code?

n = 4
while n >= 0:
n = n - 1
print(n)

A) numbers 3 to -1 B) numbers 3 to 0 C) numbers 4 to 0

D) numbers 4 to -1 E) numbers 4 to infinity
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Question: while Loop (2)

Question: What is the output of the following code?

n = 1
while n <= 5:
print(n)
n = n + 1

A) nothing B) numbers 1 to 5 C) numbers 1 to 6 D) lots of 1s

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The for Loop

A for loop repeats statements a given number of times.

Python for loop syntax: Up to but not including

ending number

for i in range(1,6):
print(i)
Starting number
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Using range
The basic form of range is:
range(start,end)
• start is inclusive, end is not inclusive
• default increment is 1

May also specify an increment:

range(start, end, increment)
or just the end:
range(end)
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For Loop and While Loop

The for loop is like a short-hand for the while loop:

i=0
while i < 10: for i in range(0, 10, 1):
print(i) print(i)
i += 1
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Common Problems – Infinite Loops

Infinite loops are caused by an incorrect loop condition or not
updating values within the loop so that the loop condition will
eventually be false.
Example:
n = 1
while n <= 5:
print(n)
# Forgot to increase n -> infinite loop
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Common Problems – Off-by-one Error

The most common error is to be "off-by-one". This occurs when you
stop the loop one iteration too early or too late.

Example:
• This loop was supposed to print 0 to 10, but it does not.
for i in range(0,10):
print(i)
Question: How can we fix this code to print 0 to 10?
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Question: for Loop

Question: How many numbers are printed with this loop?

for i in range(1,10):
print(i)

A) 0 B) 9 C) 10 D) 11 E) error
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Question: for Loop

Question: How many numbers are printed with this loop?

for i in range(11,0):
print(i)

A) 0 B) 9 C) 10 D) 11 E) error
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Try it: for Loops

Question 1: Write a program that prints the numbers from 1 to 10
then 10 to 1.

Question 2: Write a program that prints the numbers from 1 to 100

that are divisible by 3 and 5.

Question 3: Write a program that asks the user for 5 numbers and
prints the maximum, sum, and average of the numbers.
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Lists Overview
A list is a collection of data items that are referenced by index.
• Lists in Python are similar to arrays in other programming languages
A list allows multiple data items to be referenced by one name and
retrieved by index.

Python list:
data = [100, 200, 300, 'one', 'two', 600]
0 1 2 3 4 5
list variable
name Indexes
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Retrieving Items from a List

Items are retrieved by index (starting from 0) using square brackets:
data = [100, 200, 300, 'one', 'two', 600]
print(data[0]) # 100
print(data[4]) # 'two'
print(data[6]) # error – out of range
print(data[len(data)-1]) # 600
print(data[-1]) # 600
print(data[2:4]) # [300, 'one']

# Create an empty list:

emptyList = []
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List Operations
data = [1, 2, 3, 5]
lst = []
Operation Syntax Examples Output
Add item [Link](val) [Link](1) [1, 2, 3, 5, 1]
Insert item [Link](idx,val) [Link](3,4) [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Remove item [Link](val) [Link](5) [1, 2, 3]
Update item list[idx]=val lst[0]=10 [10]
Length of list len(list) len(data) 4
Slice of list list[x:y] data[0:3] [1, 2, 3]
Find index [Link](val) [Link](5) 3
Sort list [Link]() [Link]() [1, 2, 3, 5]
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List Details
If you provide an index outside of the valid range, Python will return
an index error.

To sort in reverse order, do this:

[Link](reverse=True)

For loops are used to iterate though items in a list:

for v in data:
print(v)
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Advanced: Python Lists Comprehensions

List comprehensions build a list using values that satisfy a criteria.

evenNums100 = [n for n in range(101) if n%2==0]

Equivalent to:
evenNums100 = []
for n in range(101):
if n%2==0:
[Link](n)
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Advanced: Python Lists Slicing

List slicing allows for using range notation to retrieve only certain
elements in the list by index. Syntax:
list[start:end:stride]

Example:
data = list(range(1,11))
print(data) # [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]
print(data[1:8:2]) # [2, 4, 6, 8]
print(data[1::3]) # [2, 5, 8]
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Question: List
Question: At what index is item with value 3?

data = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
[Link](3)
[Link](1, 3)
[Link](2)
[Link]()
data = data[1:4]

A) 0 B) 1 C) 2 D) 3 E) not there
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Try it: Lists

Question 1: Write a program that puts the numbers from 1 to 10 in a
list then prints them by traversing the list.

Question 2: Write a program that will multiply all elements in a list by

2.

Question 3: Write a program that reads in a sentence from the user

and splits the sentence into words using split(). Print only the words
that are more than 3 characters long. At the end print the total
number of words.
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Python Dictionary
A dictionary is a collection of key-value pairs that are manipulated
using the key.
dict = {1:'one', 2:'two', 3:'three'}
print(dict[1]) # one
print(dict['one']) # error - key not found
if 2 in dict: # Use in to test for key
print(dict[2]) # two
dict[4] = 'four' # Add 4:'four'
del dict[1] # Remove key 1
[Link]() # Returns keys
[Link]() # Returns values
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Question: Dictionary
Question: What is the value printed?

data = {'one':1, 'two':2, 'three':3}

data['four'] = 4
sum = 0
for k in [Link]():
if len(k) > 3:
sum = sum + data[k]
print(sum)

A) 7 B) 0 C) 10 D) 6 E) error
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Try it: Dictionary

Question: Write a program that will use a dictionary to record the
frequency of each letter in a sentence. Read a sentence from the user
then print out the number of each letter.
Code to create the dictionary of letters:
import string
counts = {}
for letter in string.ascii_uppercase:
counts[letter] = 0
print(counts)
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Functions and Procedures

A procedure (or method) is a sequence of program statements that
have a specific task that they perform.
• The statements in the procedure are mostly independent of other statements in
the program.

A function is a procedure that returns a value after it is executed.

We use functions so that we do not have to type the same code over
and over. We can also use functions that are built-in to the language
or written by others.
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Functions and Procedures

Creating a function involves writing the statements and providing a
function declaration with:
• a name (follows the same rules as identifiers)
• list of the inputs (called parameters)
• the output (return value) if any

Calling (or executing) a function involves:

• providing the name of the function
• providing the values for all arguments (inputs) if any
• providing space (variable name) to store the output (if any)
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Defining and Calling a Function

Consider a function that returns a number doubled:
def
Keyword Parameter Name
Function Name

def doubleNum(num):
num = num * 2
print("Num: "+num)
return num
Call function by Argument
name
n = doubleNum(5) # 10
print(str(doubleNum(n))) # ??
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Python Built-in Math Functions

# Math
import math
print([Link](25))

# Import only a function

from math import sqrt
print(sqrt(25))

# Print all math functions

print(dir(math))
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Other Python Built-in Functions

max, min, abs:
print(max(3, 5, 2)) # 5
print(min(3, 5, 2)) # 2
print(abs(-4)) # 4
type() returns the argument data type:
print(type(42)) # <class 'int'>
print(type(4.2)) # <class 'float'>
print(type('spam')) # <class 'str'>
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Python Random Numbers

Use random numbers to make the program have different behavior
when it runs.
from random import randint
coin = randint(0, 1) # 0 or 1
die = randint(1, 6) # 1 to 6
print(coin)
print(die)
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Advanced: Python Functions

Python supports functional programming allowing functions to be
passed like variables to other functions.
• Lambda functions are functions that do not have a name.
Example:
def doFunc(func, val):
return func(val)

print(doFunc(doubleNum, 10)) # 20
print(doFunc(lambda x: x * 3, 5)) # 15
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Question: Functions
Question: What is the value printed?

def triple(num):
return num * 3

n = 5
print(triple(n)+triple(2))

A) 0 B) 6 C) 15 D) 21 E) error
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Practice Questions: Functions

1) Write a function that returns the largest of two numbers.

2) Write a function that prints the numbers from 1 to N where N is its

input parameter.

Call your functions several times to test that they work.

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Conclusion
Python is a general, high-level programming language designed for
code readability and simplicity.
Programming concepts covered:
• variables, assignment, expressions, strings, string functions
• making decisions with conditions and if/elif/else
• repeating statements (loops) using for and while loops
• reading input with input() and printing with print()
• data structures including lists and dictionaries
• creating and calling functions, using built-in functions (math, random)
Python is a powerful tool for data analysis and automation.
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Objectives
• Explain what is Python and note the difference between Python 2 and 3
• Define: algorithm, program, language, programming
• Follow Python basic syntax rules including indentation
• Define and use variables and assignment
• Apply Python variable naming rules
• Perform math expressions and understand operator precedence
• Use strings, character indexing, string functions
• String functions: split, substr, concatenation
• Use Python datetime and clock functions
• Read input from standard input (keyboard)
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Objectives (2)
• Create comparisons and use them for decisions with if
• Combine conditions with and, or, not
• Use if/elif/else syntax
• Looping with for and while
• Create and use lists and list functions
• Advanced: list comprehensions, list slicing
• Create and use dictionaries
• Create and use Python functions
• Use built-in functions in math library
• Create random numbers
• Advanced: passing functions, lambda functions